Miami, Fla., Jun 8, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The former Archbishop of Miami, Edward McCarthy, died June 7 at the age of 87. During his 18 years as archbishop, he led the faithful through social crisis, growth and periods of important change.
With the influx of Catholic refugees from Cuba, Haiti and Central America, he opened nearly one parish per year. He preached the Gospel without shyness and got the laity more involved in running parishes.
When he retired at age 76 in 1994, the archdiocese included more than one million Catholics, nearly two-thirds of them Hispanic.
“He had the heart of Jesus,” Fr. David Russell told the Miami Herald. “He was not interested in playing politics. He was a workaholic who was close to the laity. And he had great vision,” said the retired pastor of St. John Neumann Church.
The faithful also remember and appreciated his ability to convince Pope John Paul II to make the first papal visit ever to Miami in September 1987. It was also the first papal visit south of Washington.
The Archbishop’s funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.